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The new federal government has a full legislative agenda even before it looks at the chaos created by the Harper government in the criminal justice system. Justice policy is all about values; there’s truth in the oft-quoted observation of the 35-year-old Winston Churchill: “The mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of the civilization of any country.”

Like many countries — notably the U.S. — Canada has not always received a clear “pass” on Churchill’s civilization test. However, until 2006, even if we sometimes failed to live up to our aspirations, we at least talked a good talk about the justice system’s goals and operation. But that changed in 2006 when rhetoric about criminal justice became not only rejecting of many Canadians, but decidedly nasty.

Even the U.S. has realized that high imprisonment rates — especially of minor offenders — serve nobody and is shifting its orientation accordingly. Yet the previous federal government not only insisted on pursuing the same path the U.S. is now abandoning, but also sowed fear and division in an attempt to justify these misguided policies. Change in both the direction and tone of Canada’s criminal justice policy is necessary.

To bring our justice system more in line with Canadian values will take both time and effort. However, there are important steps the new government can take now.

First, remove the handcuffs from judges and let them do the job they are paid to do: judge. One Criminal Code amendment can undo the worst of the mandatory measures that have eliminated judicial discretion and thereby reduced public safety. It could provide that, notwithstanding any other provisions, a judge may impose something other than the mandatory measure. Judges could be required to state in open court what the compelling reasons were for their decisions.

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Second, the most serious contributor to overcrowding in provincial/territorial prisons is the growth in the number of remand prisoners — most of whom are still legally innocent. Fifty-four per cent of the prisoners in provincial/territorial prisons aren’t serving sentences. The Conservatives did nothing to address this problem; Ottawa needs to work with the provinces to fix it. The federal government should show leadership and start that work immediately.

Third, repeal the most egregious government-supported private member’s bills controlling release from penitentiary. One of these bills restricted many prisoners to a single application for supervised reintegration into the community. If unsuccessful, those prisoners most in need of supervision and support would get the least of it. The evidence is clear: people released “cold” from prison cells to the street reoffend at a higher rate than those released with support and supervision.

Fourth, refocus tax dollars on high-risk offenders, and stop wasting money on those who are low-risk. For example, currently everyone released on day parole must live in halfway houses for six months (or three years for those serving life sentences), regardless of whether they are homeless or have a home to go to. One white-collar, first-time, low-risk offender parked his white Mercedes in front of the halfway house he was assigned to every night for six months while he slept there. He spent the daytime at his home. Taxpayers paid for that bed (for 180 nights) and it was unavailable for prisoners whose reoffending could be reduced by this form of supervised release.

These changes could be made easily without taking much parliamentary time. Simultaneously, however, the government could convene a group to reflect on the fundamental principles of Canadian justice that should guide our way ahead. This should involve parliamentarians as well as the public and groups with an interest in our justice system. Such a project was last undertaken in 1982.

One counterproductive aspect of the recent past has been that, though we have a substantial body of evidence about what works and produces better public safety, we have consistently ignored it. Once we’ve done the work of determining the modern principles by which our justice system should function, we should look to the evidence. There is no need for the scare tactics and simple meanness we experienced under the previous government. Canadians understand accountability, fairness, compassion, and mercy and are looking for sensible criminal justice policies based on the best available information. Let’s show the world that we are indeed back.

Roy McMurtry is a former Chief Justice of Ontario and a former Attorney General of Ontario. Mary Campbell, until 2013, was the Director General of the Corrections &amp; Criminal Justice Directorate at Public Safety Canada. Anthony Doob is Professor Emeritus of Criminology at the University of Toronto

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